


The Secrets of the Chakram

by Purple Pen (genteelrebel)



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Xena: Warrior Princess
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crack, Crossover, F/F, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-22
Updated: 2015-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-14 15:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3415883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genteelrebel/pseuds/Purple%20Pen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How is it that the girls have met both Homer and Lao Tzu? Caesar and Boadiccea? How can the chakram slice through iron and still be able to bounce off of offending warlords without cutting their skin? What's the one completely evil 24th century invention that makes Gabrielle eager to return to Ancient Greece? Read this and find out!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline: For X&G this story takes place in early season three, one year after the events in "Remember Nothing". That makes it Pre-Rift, as I'm sure you'll be able to tell. :) For the Deep Space characters, it takes place during Season Seven, and flashbacks are early Season One. 
> 
> PLEASE NOTE: This story was written long before I saw X:WP's fifth season, and thus learned the true story of the chakram. Just treat this as an amusing AU.

Fall was sweeping over the land. Gabrielle wandered through the landscape aimlessly, simultaneously missing Xena and enjoying having the time to herself. Xena was off doing her annual pilgrimage to the Temple of the Fates, in honor of her brother Lyceus. Gabrielle had offered to go along, of course, but Xena refused. "Please, Gabrielle," she'd said. "This is something I have to do on my own."

"But why? I went with you last year."

The warrior had looked heavenward and muttered something under her breath. Something about "yes, and I don't want what happened then to happen again." But when Gabrielle had said "What?" the warrior had only said: "This time it's different, Gabrielle. Trust me. And-- look after these while I'm gone?" To Gabrielle's tremendous surprise, Xena began shucking off her weapons... the sword, the knife from her boot top, even the breast dagger Gabrielle had acquired so long ago. And then, most shocking of all, she removed the chakram. Xena held the weapon in her two hands for a long moment before she handed it over. Gabrielle had been stunned. "You... you're trusting me with this?"

"I know you'll take good care of it." Xena sighed. "Gabrielle, please don't ask me to explain. I have to go to the temple alone this year, and I don't want to take any weapons with me. Make camp tonight wherever you find a good place; I'll be back before sunrise." She brushed a kiss over Gabrielle's lips, nodded at the chakram, said with pointed emphasis "Be...careful...with…that," and disappeared into the woods.

So Gabrielle was being careful. The sword she'd threaded through the loop on Argo's saddle, and the knives she'd placed carefully in the saddlebags, but the chakram she'd tied with a scrap of cloth to her leather belt. That way it would be right at her hip as she rambled, no further than a reassuring glance away. She looked down now, and found...

The chakram was no longer there.

Gabrielle's heart began to race. She suddenly realized she had not felt the metal ring slap against her thigh for some time now. It must have slipped off, but where? She had covered so much land today, wandering; there was no way she'd be able to retrace her steps exactly. Gabrielle turned to examine the track behind her, hoping to see a tell-tale metallic glint, but there was nothing there but smooth forest floor. Panic filled Gabrielle's heart. She'd lost it! Oh gods...Xena...

There was a chuckle behind her. It was masculine, deep, and very pleased with itself.

Gabrielle whirled around. Ares, God of War, was leaning against a tree. He was dressed in his usual dark leathers, and was spinning the chakram around his index finger. "Lose something?" he asked innocently.

"Ares." Gabrielle grabbed her staff off of Argo and went into her best defensive stance. "What do you want?"

"Ah ah ah." The god stopped his spinning, waved a finger at her in rebuke. "That's no way to treat an old friend, especially one who has come to do you a favor." He nodded at the chakram. "You really should be more careful with Xena's things, you know."

Gabrielle tensed. She looked into the god's twinkling eyes, and came to a sudden conclusion. "You stole it, didn't you."

Ares mimed a wound to the heart, bringing one hand to his chest. "Now you've hurt me," he said. "No, little bard, thievery is not one of my 'many skills.' You dropped it nearly a quarter mile ago. I simply picked it up and brought it back."

Gabrielle shook her head. "You never 'simply' do anything, Ares."

He chuckled, a low sound that Gabrielle found both pleasant and menacing. Although she supposed she'd rather have the God of War chuckling in her presence than doing anything else... "True. And in this case I will admit I had an ulterior motive. I've never had a chance to examine the chakram up close before. But you merely provided me with the opportunity when you lost it; I did not take it from you."

"Oh, right. That's exactly how it must have happened." Gabrielle nodded and tightened her grip on her staff. "Well, I thank you, Ares, for your kindness in looking after Xena's property. Now give it back and be on your way."

Ares smiled, as amused and unimpressed by her impudence as Xena would be by the yip of a small dog. "Now, now," he said. "Don't be in such a hurry." He held up the chakram to the light, eyes gleaming with appreciation of the weapon's edge and smooth curves. "I've always known this little weapon was special, as special as Xena. It contains her essence, her soul, the way nothing else ever could. But it wasn't until recently that I discovered just how special it truly was." He tore his eyes from the chakram with an effort and raised an eyebrow at Gabrielle. "You have no idea of power it holds, do you."

"I know how powerfully Xena will use it on you if you don't give it back." Smart, Gabrielle, smart, she berated herself as soon as the words left her mouth. Talking back to the god of war. That's a really *wonderful* strategy for staying alive until sunset. Fortunately Ares just smirked-- he was obviously in a good mood today. Gabrielle didn't want to speculate why. "Yes, you're probably right," Ares agreed. "But while I would relish giving Xena any reason to confront me in battle again, I'm afraid that pleasure will have to be deferred. Places to go, you know, nations..." he chuckled again, "*universes* to conquer. You mortals never appreciate just how many demands there are on a god's time. So..." He reached back and flung the chakram toward Gabrielle's feet.

Gabrielle yelped and jumped, but it just landed harmlessly a few inches from where her toes would have been, sharp edge plowing up the soil. She cautiously stooped to pick it up, one hand firmly on the staff and eyes never leaving Ares. He watched her, that annoying twinkle back in his eyes. "It'll be interesting to find out what you tell Xena about this."

"What?" Gabrielle stood, brushing off the chakram against her skirt. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "Well, it's an interesting dilemma, isn't it? On the one hand you really should tell her that I had my hands on her precious chakram, because I'm an untrustworthy cad and you never know what I might be up to. But if you do that, you'll have to admit that you lost it in the first place." He chuckled. "Yes, it's a very interesting dilemma. I can't wait to see what you'll decide."

So he was insulting her honesty now, was he? "Don't worry, Ares," she said heatedly. "Xena will know everything as soon as she gets back. We don't have any secrets from each other."

"Don't you?" Ares gave her a final smirk and disappeared. Gabrielle started to shakily refasten the chakram to her belt, half infuriated by the god and half relieved that she'd come through the encounter still capable of breathing in and out. She tied the weapon on with a good, solid knot and thought about Ares' final taunt: yes, it would be difficult to tell Xena she had lost her charge, and she really didn't want to be around the warrior when she found out that Ares had touched her beloved weapon. But she'd tell her. Their relationship demanded no less. Gabrielle sighed, whistled to Argo, and set about looking for a good place to camp.

***

In the end, Gabrielle didn't get a chance to say one thing or another about it. Xena came back to camp long after dark; Gabrielle woke up only long enough to register the warrior's soft kiss on her cheek and feel the warm length of Xena's body slip under the blanket beside her before drifting off again. In the morning she woke up to find an extra blanket tucked over her, a good fire going and a pot of water beginning to boil. Ah, it was good to have her love back. Xena was probably off hunting something for breakfast. Gabrielle yawned and rolled over, knowing that she had another good fifteen minutes before Xena came back and demanded she get up. Her hand slipped under her neck roll and closed around the chakram, which she had placed there before going to sleep. After her confrontation with Ares, she was taking no chances.

Suddenly she heard a noise that jarred her out of her drowsy state. Her first thought was that it was some strange sort of bird. Then she realized that the sound was coming from right below her ear, under the pillow. She sat up and wrenched the pillow aside. Yes, the sound was coming from the chakram, a twinkling persistent chime, followed by a buzzing hum. Gabrielle frowned and bent her head closer, trying to decipher that hum. When she did she gave a yelp, and retreated rapidly across the campground. Xena chose that moment to return; Gabrielle swallowed hard and looked up at her as she strode out of the trees. "Xena," she said, clearly and distinctly. "You chakram is talking."

Xena did not react to this announcement the way Gabrielle had thought she would. The bard had expected a raised eyebrow at very least, and more likely a query about what she'd eaten in the last twenty-four hours. But Xena shot across the clearing like an arrow, was on her knees and had the chakram in her hand before Gabrielle could blink. In another second she was holding the weapon up the light, blue eyes staring through the ring.

Gabrielle had seen Xena do some strange things in her time, but this took the nutbread. "Xena?" she said uncertainly.

"Shhh." Xena's voice was simultaneously tense and reassuring. "Give me a minute, Gabrielle. I'll explain everything, I promise." She ran her fingers over the chakram's edge and touched first one of the abalone inlays, then another. There was a pop, and a feminine face came into view...

Inside the chakram. Staring back at Xena.

Gabrielle gasped and stepped backward. It wasn't so much the fact of the face's appearance; she'd seen enough workings of the gods for that to be downright commonplace. But the woman's appearance did startle her a bit. She would have been quite a beauty, if it wasn't for the odd laps of skin over her nose-- at first Gabrielle thought they were some horrible scar, then decided it was a birth defect. The woman had short dark hair, and an intricate earring dangling from just one ear. "Xena!" she exclaimed. "Thank the prophets you answered."

"I'm here, Nerys," Xena answered. "What's wrong?"

"There's been some strange..." Nerys dodged as ray of light, deep red in color, sped by her cheek. There was some muffled swearing, an odd thweep sound, a distant cry, and a thump which Gabrielle instantly recognized as the sound of a body hitting the ground. (She'd heard that sound a lot during her travels with Xena.) When Nerys came back into focus, she had a sheen of sweat on her forehead. "Some strange things happening," she continued, ruefully running a hand back through her hair. "Xena, normally I wouldn't bother you, but we've picked up some odd energy readings with your temporal signature." She frowned. "I was half hoping it was you."

"No, Nerys. I haven't been to your place since...the last time we met." Xena leaned in closer. "Are you under fire?"

"Heavy," Nerys nodded. "Normally I'd say it was nothing we couldn't handle, but..."

"I'll be right there," Xena said. Gabrielle coughed. Xena looked behind her, momentarily confused, then smiled slightly. "Oh. Nerys, I'll be bringing a friend. Is there someplace safe we can materialize?"

The brunette nodded determinedly. "Give me ten minutes to secure Ops, then come on through," she said. "Kira out." Her image flickered and disappeared. Xena gave the chakram a little toss in the air, hooked it at her hip, then regarded Gabrielle. "Well," she said, amusement teasing in and out of her blue eyes as she took in Gabrielle's stalwart, I-can-handle-this-really-I-can expression. "I bet you'd like to know what that was all about."

"Who, me? Of course not." Gabrielle shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean, it isn't everyday that your chakram starts talking and a woman with a strange nose magically appears inside it, but compared to some of the other things we've been through it's really not all that remarkable."

Xena was plainly trying hard to stifle a laugh. "So you're not curious at all."

"Not at all." Gabrielle smiled brightly. "I better get started packing up Argo. We are going to go help out your friend, right?"

"Yes. But we're not going on Argo."

"No?"

"No. Listen, Gabrielle. We..." She stopped as the chakram began to vibrate at her side. Gabrielle looked at it, then looked at Xena, and very pointedly said nothing. Xena shook her head. "Nerys is even faster than I remembered," she said. "Gabrielle, I would love to explain everything, but there just isn't time. Just... stick close to me, okay? And try not to stare too much."

She unhooked the chakram and tossed it up in the air, where it hung a few inches above Gabrielle's head, undulating and glowing with an inborn light. Xena drew her sword and grabbed Gabrielle's hand--

And suddenly they were Somewhere Else.

***

It took several moments for Gabrielle's eyes to adjust. They had been standing in bright sunshine. This new room was dark, and filled with so many strange objects that Gabrielle wondered if she could trust her eyes even when she could see clearly. The room was also filled with a conspicuous number of unconscious bodies, strewn here and there about the floor. "Xena?"

"It's all right, Gabrielle." Xena had arrived with her sword ready in her hand, anticipating trouble. At the reassuring sight of so many non-moving foes, she sheathed it and smiled broadly at the red-suited woman picking her way toward them. "Well, Nerys," she said, cheerfully clasping hands with her. "When you said secure I see you meant secure."

Kira's eyes twinkled. "It's good to see you too, Xena."

Gabrielle was busy noting that the woman's tight-fitting jumpsuit left very little to the imagination, and that her trim figure matched her face in attractiveness. "Uh, Xena?" she said, trying hard to keep the hostility out of her voice. "Would you mind introducing me to your... acquaintance?"

"Relax, Gabrielle, she's just a friend," Xena said. "We fought a battle together once." She turned to her. "Nerys, I'd like you to meet my..."

"Yes?" Gabrielle put her hands on her hips. "Your what?"

Xena looked heavenward for a second, but she went on smoothly: "My true love, the light of my heart, Gabrielle of Potedia. Gabrielle, this is Nerys. Major Kira Nerys."

"Colonel, now," Kira corrected. "I'm pleased to meet you, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle noticed that other people in the room were slowly coming out of hiding-- two men and a petite dark haired women with spots trailing across her forehead and down her neck. ("Don't stare too much, Gabrielle," Xena had said.) They were all peering cautiously at Xena and Gabrielle as if they couldn't quite believe the shooting was over with. The sight of one of them elicited another small smile from Xena. "Chief O'Brien," she said, shaking her head. "I see that your arm healed up just fine. How are your wife and your daughter?"

"They're all right," answered the chief. He spoke with a strange lilt that Gabby couldn't quite identify, and nodded at the chakram. "I see you're still carrying that."

"Everywhere I go." Xena smiled broadly. "I've put it to very good use."

For some reason this comment made the chief uncomfortable. "I-- I bet," he said, and closed his mouth.

"Kira, O'Brien," the other man said commandingly. Gabrielle turned to look at him. He was tall, with a very deep voice and a posture that said he was used to being in charge of things. At the moment he had his arms crossed in front of his chest, and he looked at her and Xena with disapproval. "Are you going to tell me who your friend is?"

Colonel Kira immediately snapped to attention. "I'm sorry, sir," she said. "This is Xena, and her partner Gabrielle. Xena, Gabrielle, this is our commanding officer, Captain Benjamin Sisko." She addressed Sisko with a lowered voice. "You may remember Xena from the report I filed on Iphled Four, Captain."

"Iphled Four?" Sisko repeated, trying to place it. Kira nodded. Suddenly his eyes widened. "Oh. Iphled Four." He looked at Xena with new respect. "Now I understand."

"Well I sure don't," said the spotted brunette. She had been hanging back listening to the conversation, but now she stepped forward, and shook first Xena's than Gabrielle's hand. Gabrielle felt relieved to be noticed; she was beginning to wonder if she'd suddenly turned invisible or something. "I'm sorry, but I can't place you at all. Did Jadzia know you and I've just forgotten? I'm Ezri, Dax's new host."

None of this made any sense to Gabrielle, but Xena appeared to understand. "No, we've never met before," she said, "But O'Brien told me about everyone on the station last time we were together. Pleased to meet you, Ezri."

"So," said Sisko, who had waited impatiently for this exchange to get over with. "I take it that you are here to help us with our little problem."

Xena nodded, immediately back in battle mode. "If I can," she said soberly. "Tell me what's been going on."

"We've been witnessing outbursts of strange behavior aboard the station," Miles said. "People having been losing control of their tempers without any provocation, and this has led to an epidemic of minor assaults and property damage. Lately people have been forming into small mobs. We didn't think anything of it when it was just the Klingons wrecking the furniture in Quark's..."

"After all, they're always like that," Ezri put in.

Miles glared at her and continued. "But when the vedics assaulted the congregation during a Bajoran religious service, we knew something was wrong. And then when our own security force turned against us..." He shrugged, looking around at the neatly uniformed bodies strewn about. "Well, then we knew for sure."

"I can see how that could be a clue," Xena agreed. "But why call on me?"

"We ran detailed scans of the areas where the disturbances occurred, as well as they people involved," Kira said. "We've seen a few similar occurrences, when a virus or alien influence altered people's behavior--"

Ezri chuckled. "We certainly have." O'Brien and Sisko both glared at her, and she held up her hands in apology.

"But this time we couldn't find anything," the colonel went on. "Until, that is, Chief O'Brien ran his tricorder over the scene of each disturbance, and discovered the oddest temporal signature present at all them."

"I knew the signature rang a bell," O'Brien said. "I'd seen it before. It took me a while to remember just where, but..."

"But it was the same signature that I have, and Gabrielle has, and everyone has from our time," Xena finished for him. "Interesting."

"So we called you," Kira said. "Our theory is that someone, or something, has slipped through the portal from your time to ours. We were hoping you could tell us what."

"I see." Xena was quiet for a moment, a thoughtful look on her face. "No. It can't be." She looked up to see everyone's eyes on her, shook her head and explained. "These... disturbances. They sound like the workings of a friend of mine. But there's no way he could have found his way here. I'm sorry."

Gabrielle froze. "Oh no," she said, horror plain on her face. "Xena, if you're talking about Ares, I think it is possible. I was going to tell you..."

Five pairs of eyes turned to look at her. Only Xena's were compassionate. "Tell me what, Gabrielle?"

Gabrielle swallowed hard. "That Ares borrowed your chakram yesterday," she confessed. "I-- I lost it, or Ares stole it, and then he gave it back. He said something about wanting the chance to discover its secret power." Gabrielle looked at her love. "I really was going to tell you, Xena, the first chance I got, but I was asleep when you got back to camp, and then..." She waved her hand vaguely around at the chakram, the room, and the strange people staring at her.

Xena nodded. "It's all right, Gabrielle. I understand," she said, and then addressed the rest of the assembly with one eyebrow raised. "Well. I guess it's not as impossible as I thought."

"Wait a minute," said Sisko suspiciously. "Ares. You can't mean... the ancient Greek god of war."

Xena bristled a little at his tone, but she held it in check. "That's exactly who I mean."

"But the Greek gods are mere myths. They can't possibly be real."

Gabrielle snorted as she envisioned Aphrodite's reaction to being called a "mere myth." Colonel Kira, seeing that Xena was on the verge of saying something biting, hurriedly stepped in. "Captain," she said quietly, "the wormhole aliens were just Bajoran mythology until a few years ago."

"Yes, Captain." O'Brien nodded. "And don't forget, James T. Kirk once met an entity claiming to be the god Apollo. It's possible that that this Ares is a similar being." He looked at Xena. "And if that's true, we ought to be able to rig a way to catch him."

"Ares is tricky," Xena said. "It's not going to be easy."

"Well, something must be done," Sisko said, abandoning his objections. "I will not have my own security force continue to turn against me." He nodded curtly at Xena. "Miss..."

She smiled, a slow parting of lips over shiny white teeth that had a way of seriously discomfiting her opponents. Captain Sisko was no exception. "Just 'Xena', Captain."

"Ah. Yes. Well then, uh Xena, I'd like you to work with Colonel Kira and Chief O'Brien. Find out if it really is this...friend... of yours who is causing all the trouble, and if so find a way to return him to his proper time and place." He nodded at the colonel. "You might want to get Constable Odo in on this as well."

"Aye, sir." A door slid open; a team of neatly uniformed people stepped out, and started placing the wounded on stretchers. A few minutes later even more people arrived, replacing the fallen at their workstations. Sisko straightened his shirt. "Well, the excitement appears to be over, at least for the moment," he said. "Carry on, Colonel, Chief."

"Aye sir." Sisko turned on his heel, went up a short flight of stairs, and disappeared behind another pair of doors.

 

Ten minutes later Gabrielle was having her first ride in a turbolift. When she first felt the floor jerk out from under her, she'd gulped hard. The motion was unsettling, and Gabrielle's stomach had never been the strongest of organs. But it had settled down. And anyway, she had plenty of other things to worry about. O'Brien had suggested that he and Xena go down to one of the science labs. "I think this is going to take a while, Xena."

"Right." Xena turned to the Colonel. "Colonel, are there any spare rooms Gabrielle can stay in?"

"What?" Gabrielle couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Now you're trying to get rid of me?"

The warrior sighed. "Gabrielle, if I remember what the Chief means by 'a while', this could take all day. You'll be bored. Trust me."

Gabrielle had wanted to argue, but Xena gave her one of her impressive repertoire of Looks, and she subsided. "All right," she said. "But you've got to promise come get me if anything exciting happens."

Xena shook her head with a smile. "I promise."

Kira stepped forward. "I'll be glad to show you to your quarters, Gabrielle," she said, and shot a pointed glance at Xena and O'Brien. "*You* two can get to work."

"We'll collect Odo on the way," O'Brien said. Xena gave Gabrielle a quick kiss, and she and O'Brien left. The kiss had made Gabrielle feel a little better, but not much-- too many strange things had happened. She watched her beloved sink away into the floor with a sinking sensation herself. Now she was riding in the same contraption-- turbolift, she reminded herself-- the friendly but somehow intimidating colonel at her side. "Colonel?" she said, gathering her courage. "Would you mind answering a few questions for me?"

Kira nodded smartly. "Of course, Gabrielle."

"Where in Tartarus are we?"

Kira looked astonished. "In a turbo lift," she said slowly, thinking about how she had explained this very thing less than two minutes ago.

"No! I knew that," Gabrielle said quickly. "I meant this-- this 'station'. Where is it?

"Ah." Kira was silent for a moment, thinking back to the time when Xena had asked her a similar question, almost seven years ago. It hadn't been any easier answering it then. "Well..." she began and proceeded to do her best. The time travel part was easy-- Gabrielle had heard Autolycus and Iolaus's stories about the Chronos stone, although she had a little trouble comprehending just how many years she had leapt. The "Deep Space" part was trickier, but Gabrielle had spent enough time looking at the stars that she grasped that after just a little explanation. Kira talked until the turbo lift halted; the doors opened on a corridor, and the pair walked along it until they reached Gabrielle's new quarters. Kira punched a code into the door and it opened. "Here you are, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle looked inside. Well, she had to admit she didn't think much of the decorator. But she wasn't going to say that out loud. "It's lovely, Colonel. I'm sure Xena and I will be comfortable here."

"Good." Kira gave Gabrielle a quick tour of the rooms technological marvels-- the replicator, basic computer functions, how to turn the lights on and off, etc. Gabrielle nodded and smiled politely, but in truth she only understood about one word out of four. "Oh, Colonel?" she interrupted as Kira was about to leave. "Do you think you could make arrangements for a tub and hot water to be brought? Xena and I would really appreciate a bath later."

Kira looked apologetic. "Oh, I'm sorry! I should have shown you where the sonic shower was." She led Gabrielle through a side door to a small mirrored room. "Here. All you have to do is say "Sonic Shower On", stand in front of this panel for five minutes, and you'll be clean. You can put your clothes in this bin, and they'll be clean too by the time you finish."

Gabrielle was staring at the shower in frank dismay. "What, no hot water?"

The colonel shook her head.

"No towels? No SOAP?"

Once again Kira shook her head. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh. Not at all." Gabrielle snapped out of her funk. "I'm sure this sonic rain thingy will be just fine. Thanks for showing it to me, Colonel." Kira nodded and left the apartment. As the door whistled shut behind her, the bard shook her head in amazement. "Twenty-forth century, twenty-forth smentury," she muttered. "Miracles everywhere you look, but they're too primitive to supply a good bathtub. Xena and I won't stay here a moment longer than we have to..."

***

Far away in a different corner of the station, Xena stood alone in the science lab, gazing out a porthole, lost in thought. It had taken several hours of hard work, brainstorming and arguing and testing, but they had come up with a plan. Constable Odo, who would have been much more suspicious of her if it hadn't been for Kira's whole hearted endorsement, had brought the incident reports, and Xena had instantly known that Ares was responsible. The hard part was figuring out what to do about it. Opening up a portal that would take Ares back to his proper time was easy; getting him to go through it was not. But they'd worked it out, and Xena was certain the plan would work.

They'd decided not put it into action until the next morning, when everyone was fresh. Kira, Odo, and O'Brien had gone off to Quark's to relax. They'd invited her, but she'd turned them down, wanting some time to think before she sought out Gabrielle. It was so strange being here, among these people again: aboard a station she had never thought to see, although many details of it were imprinted on her mind from the homesick ramblings of a dying man. Xena sighed. Gabrielle, she knew, was going to want to know every detail of the story. She let her mind role back...


	2. Chapter 2

*It was many winters ago,* Xena thought to herself as she stared out at the stars. *Borias was dead, and my army -- well, I kept them together as best I could, but we were weak, divided. One village actually succeeded in mounting a plausible defense. We were beaten back, and had to shelter in some caves...*

Xena, Warrior Princess, Destroyer of Nations, stood looking into the damp cave, her face set like stone. The stench of blood and vomit combined with the dankness of the cave. How many of the men had she lost? And how many more was she yet to lose? Those who could walk were scurrying around softly, trying to do their best for their comrades, but they were warriors, not healers. Xena could have been helping, but many were beyond even her skill and she knew her help wasn't wanted. She could see it in their eyes: their trust in her was gone. Nobody would have thought she could lead them into such a defeat...

She noticed dimly that one man was trying to get her attention. Not bowing his head or kneeling as he would have done the day before, but standing straight, unconcealed anger on his face. "The last of the wounded have been tended," he said, disdain plain. "We await your further orders, *Ma'am*."

The word sounded like an oath out of his mouth. But she couldn't let him know she was affected. "Good," she said. "Move everyone back farther into the cave. I don't want any of the locals to see our fires in the dark."

"That would not be a good idea."

Xena's temper flashed, but she kept under control. She fixed the warrior with her iciest stare. "Oh?" She said calmly, dangerously. "And why is that?"

"These caves are haunted." He displayed no fear of her reaction. Oh yes, her control was slipping. None of her men would have dared made a statement like that yesterday. Xena's intolerance for cowardice was too well-known.

"It's true," spoke up another man, sprawling against a cave wall. "Most of us grew up around here, and we all know the tales. My own father's cousin went deep into the caves one day as a lad, on a foolish dare. He never returned. None of us would have ever set foot in the place, if..."

*If we hadn't been being massacred by those villagers.* The unfinished sentence hung in the air. Xena felt her stomach tighten with anger, but once again she refused to let it escape. "Haunted," she said, voice loud enough to be heard by everyone. "Is that what you all believe?"

Silence was her answer.

"Well," she said, drawing her sword and grinning evilly, "we'll just have to tell any ghosts to vacate the premises." Her eyes swept the ranks of warriors, selecting three of her most dependable, still unwounded men. "Mette, Kratos, Iphon, you're with me." Mette and Kratos looked down at the floor. And Iphon, who had been sitting on the floor binding up a leg wound, pointedly turned his back and continued with his work.

Now her anger was beginning to mix with fear. "Iphon," she said to the man on the floor. "Don't tell me you're afraid of a few ghost stories."

Once again there was silence. Xena waited a few heart beats, then lifted her sword to neck level and swung it in a slow circle, as if trying to decide on a victim. Once upon a time this gesture would have caused instant flinching and fear, maybe even some panicked babbling. Now they just looked back. She sheathed her sword. "Fine," she said, and didn't bother to hide her own weariness which suddenly dropped over her like a sheet. "I'll go by myself."

Nobody tried to stop her. She went deep into the cave, carelessly taking every turn, too heartsick and tired to exercise her normal caution. So she didn't notice that the rock walls had metamorphosed into a rock of a different kind; didn't notice the change in the way the air smelled, and the sudden lack of a draft, until she turned around and realized there was a solid wall where a moment ago there had been a passage.

She was trapped.

 

 

Major Kira Nerys, newly appointed Bajoran liaison officer of DS9, slumped against a rock wall and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Miles O'Brien was resting on a bolder nearby, his arm hanging painfully from the makeshift sling around his neck. She looked at him through narrowed eyes. Damn it, she had known this was a bad idea. Yes, she was aware that the Gamma Quadrant needed to be explored and mapped. But why did Sisko have to send her? She didn't understand these humans, didn't trust them, and now she was stuck with one them in a prophet-damned cavern on a prophet-damned ball of rock with battle crazed Cardassians who knew how far behind. O'Brien let out a grunt; Kira straightened. "Ready to go, Mr. O'Brien?"

"Just another second." O'Brien smiled ruefully. "You know, you can call me Miles."

She raised her eyebrows. "I don't think so."

Miles let out a chuckle that was more wonder that humor. "Why not? Major, we've been stuck here for more than two days. You've got my blood on your hands." He nodded at his sling and bandage which had once been part of Kira's uniform. "Don't you think we should switch to first names now?"

She stayed silent. O'Brien sighed. "Well, what about calling me Chief?"

That provoked a tiny smile. "Okay," she agreed. "Chief."

"Great." O'Brien smiled, then winced painfully as he got to his feet. "And I'll call you..."

He was interrupted by a sound. It was distant, but the caverns echoed; both of them heard it and were instantly alert. "What was that?" Kira said, voice low.

"I don't know. It sounded like metal hitting something." The sound came again. O'Brien snapped open his tricorder. "Major," he said, "you're not going to believe this."

"What?" Kira went to his side and looked over his shoulder. "Life signs," she said flatly. "There weren't any the last time we checked."

"Exactly." O'Brien shut the tricorder. "Shall we?"

She nodded, and they went deeper into the caves, following the sound. Soon they turned the corner, and they were face-to-face with the woman.

They both noticed different things. Kira noticed the way the woman moved: her time in the Resistance had taught her to recognize a warrior's training, and desperation too. Both were painfully obvious in the way this woman raked her sword across the stone. O'Brien noticed her beauty, even though it was hidden under a deep layer of perspiration and dirt, and the reassuring fact that she was human, obviously human. "Hello?" he said.

The stranger turned, and swung her sword to face them. Her eyes were cold, animal. She said something that neither O'Brien nor Kira could understand.

They looked at each other. "Did you get that?" O'Brien asked.

"No," Kira said. "There must be something wrong with the universal translator."

O'Brien opened his tricorder and ran it first over the woman, then over his ear where the universal translator was located. The stranger continued to speak. "No," O'Brien said. "The translator's just trying to figure out what language she's speaking. We should be able to understand her in a minute." He took another look at the tricorder, and then glanced at Kira in disbelief. "She's speaking ancient Greek!"

"Greek?"

"It's an old Terran language," O'Brien explained. "A lot of our classical literature is written in it, that's why the translator has it in its databanks. Hang on." Kira heard a click in her ear, and then the words came clear:

"Come any closer and I'll kill you."

It wasn't an idle threat. The words had no theatrics, no fear -- the woman was just stating a fact, and she smiled as if she looked forward to proving it. Kira tensed her body and made ready to jump at her, wishing that she hadn't lost her phaser in their first skirmish with the Cardassians. But O'Brien raised his one good hand. "Wait," he said to Kira, and walked toward the woman slowly, appeasingly. "Can you understand us now?"

She nodded, sword still at the ready. "Yes."

"Good." Miles smiled, slowly and carefully, doing his damnedest not to startle her. Somehow he knew he wouldn't like what happened if he did. "My name's Miles, and this is Nerys. We've been stranded here for two days now. How about you?"

The tall woman said nothing. O'Brien sighed. "Look," he said. "You're better armed than we are at the moment, and neither of us are in exactly great shape. We're not going to attack you." Her lip twisted, and she glanced at Kira. O'Brien followed the glance. "Right Major?" Kira shuffled her feet. "I said *right*, Major?"

Kira nodded perfunctorily. "Right." *For now.*

The dark-haired stranger looked at him, then at Kira, then back at O'Brien. In one smooth movement she sheathed the sword, and appeared to relax a little. "I've been here for three days," she said brusquely. "I think."

"Where did you come from?"

She said a name that meant nothing to them, then another. Finally she seemed to notice how different their clothing was, and tried a third. " Greece ."

" Greece !?!" Miles' eyes widened. He ran the tricorder over her again, then changed the setting and repeated the scan. "Major," he said slowly, "I'm getting the weirdest temporal signature from her."

"She's a time traveler??" Kira frowned at the woman, who glared thunderously back. "But that's impossible."

"Impossible?" O'Brien shook his head. "As impossible as the odd readings that drew us to these caves in the first place? As impossible as the force field that suddenly snapped up, preventing us from beaming back to the Rio Grande ? Impossible as a crew of Cardassians materializing out of nowhere to attack us?" He closed the tricorder with a snap. "No, Major. I think--"

A bolt of energy darted past his ear, smashing into the rock and sending crumbling pieces of stone tumbling down to his feet. Miles saw the woman's eyes widen, and sighed as he realized what she was seeing. A contingent of Cardassian soldiers stood behind him, weapons drawn. "I think we've got trouble," he finished lamely, and started to turn, hands in the air.

Nobody disagreed with him.

***

The sonic shower wasn't Gabrielle's only disappointment. Her appetite being what it always was, she shortly found herself being very hungry, and decided to try out the replicator Colonel Kira had shown her. After a few false starts, she managed to get the replicator to start dictating a menu; after listening to fifteen minutes of unfamiliar dishes she interrupted it. "That's enough!" she shouted. "Can you just give me a loaf of bread?"

"Please specify the variety."

"Ummm..." Gabrielle thought for a minute. Well, it was worth a shot. "Nutbread?"

The replicator materialized a loaf. Gabrielle picked it up and took a bite. Well, it was bread, all right. And it had nuts. But... "What about a glass of water?"

"Please specify volume and temperature."

"GRRR!" Gabrielle started to look around for her staff, but fortunately for the replicator the door chimed. She stalked over to it. "Come in?"

The door slid open, revealing two... well, she *thought* they were young men. One was tall and fairly handsome. The other was shorter than Gabby and had the strangest ears she'd ever seen. They were both grinning wider than their mouths seemed capable of, and as the door opened they were pushing each other back and forth, jockeying for a better position. They quit it abruptly when Gabrielle came into view. "Hi," said the tall one, beaming charmingly. "I'm Jake Sisko, and this is Nog. I... uh, we... heard you were on the station. We thought we should see if you needed anything."

"That's very kind of you," Gabrielle said, and flushed slightly as her stomach rumbled loudly. "Actually, maybe you could help me out. I've been trying to get some food out of this replicator thingy, but it's a little beyond me."

"We'd be glad to h---" Jake started to say.

The short Ferengi stepped in front of him and interrupted. "Replicator food!" he said scornfully, waving a hand to dismiss the idea. "We can do better than that. Can't we, Jake?"

Jake frowned, then smiled quickly. "We sure can!" he agreed. "Gabrielle, how would you like to go to the Promenade and get something to eat with us? There's the replimat, the Klingon takeout place, the Bajoran candy kiosk..."

"And my uncle's place." Nog grinned, showing off an intimidating array of teeth. "Quark's Bar. Best food in the quadrant."

"I-- well. That would be great. Thank you," Gabrielle accepted. She was hungry, and these two seemed nice enough, despite the danger of them smiling themselves to death. Besides, she wanted to see more of the station...she thought.

Nog and Jake beamed, pleased as bunch at the prospect of being seen in the Promenade with the lovely strawberry blonde on their arms. They managed to stay away from her just long enough for her to get through the door, then each took an elbow and escorted her through the halls.

***

Xena slipped deeper into her chair, remembering that first battle with the Cardassians. She had been ruthless, dodging between the phaser bolts to send alien bodies crashing to the floor, until not a single enemy stood. In a way it had been good training-- after that, she had never again boggled at the shape an enemy came in, be they harpy or Little Green Lizard Man. Why she had decided that the Cardassians were the enemy, and the battered Miles and Nerys allies, she still didn't know-- the warlord she had been would normally have allied with the side of obvious strength. But decide she did.

There is nothing like a battle to build camaraderie. Nerys dropped her suspicion, and left her to watch over Miles while she scouted for water or a way out. Xena sat with him in silence a while before she shrugged to herself and asked if she could see his wound. Miles looked at her doubtfully. "You... know something about medicine?"

"I have many skills." Xena unwound the sling and bandage. Well, now she knew why he was so weak, and why he was sweating despite the cavern's chill. The wound was obviously infected, and the broken bone was way beyond her ability to set. Miles noticed her expression. "Bad?"

She nodded, unwilling to lie. "Yes."

He slumped back. "Ah well," he said cheerfully, whistling in the dark. "I already knew that."

"I might be able to do something for the pain. I know something about pressure points-- I could block off the nerves."

"Block off the nerves?" Miles looked surprised. "Can you restore them later?"

She nodded. "Yes." *Not that I think you'll want me to.* Even if the infection didn't kill him, the break made the limb useless. She'd thought about suggesting amputation, but the wound was too high for her to want to risk it. If he never felt the arm again, it would be a blessing.

"Then, go ahead." Xena hit a few points on his shoulder and back. Miles looked apprehensive, but after a moment his face broke into a genuine grin. "Hey! That really is better. Thank you, Xena. I wonder if Julian knows how to do that?"

"Julian?" Xena asked, and the Chief was off and running-- telling Xena all about the young doctor, the station they lived on, his job there and all the other people he knew. Kira was gone for hours, so Miles had plenty of time to talk. And talk he did. Xena listened patiently, knowing that listening to him talk about his home was the only comfort she could offer. He was in the middle of a soliloquy about his wife and daughter's beauty when Nerys showed up, looking very excited. "Miles, Xena," she said. "I found something." They got to their feet and followed her.

As they threaded through the caves, Kira explained: she'd started out using the tricorder to search for water, but the unusual energy readings that pervaded the caves kept interfering. Finally she'd decided to examine the energy itself, and a pattern slowly emerged. Kira led Xena and Miles along the path she'd followed, the two women companions band followed it, and suddenly light became visible. They hurried toward it and found themselves in a room.

"Oh..." Miles breathed.

Xena's first impression was of metal. Lots of metal, the soft light glimmering off sharp edges, metallic shapes neatly stored in piles around the perimeter of the room. She walked slowly around, looking. "What is this place?" Miles asked.

"It's an armory," Xena said positively.

Kira agreed. "I think so too. These must be weapons-- left behind by who knows what kind of culture, who knows how many millennia ago. I've never seen workmanship anything like this."

"Neither have I," Xena said. Her eyes gleamed as she thought of her men, wounded and huddled so far and so long away from here. What she could do with a stockpile like this... Her eyes lit on a pillar placed in the center of the room, and suddenly her breath caught.

The pillar was the source of the room's dim light. It spilled through the cave like something alive, highlighting a.... thing. Xena had never seen anything like it before. It was a circle of metal, inlaid with gold, and hung a few inches above the pillar, sparkling. She started to reach for it. "What's this?"

"Don't touch it," Miles said quickly. He had taken the tricorder back from Kira and was scanning the room, frowning. "The energy's emanating from it." He looked at Kira, face pink with sweat. "I think it's a time travel device."

"It can't be," Xena said positively. From the moment she'd first seen it, illuminated by the halo of golden light, her eyes hadn't wavered-- it was the most magnificent object she'd ever seen. Something about it cried out to her, meshed with something else deep in her soul. It took an act of will to keep her hand from closing around its edge.

Kira looked at the pillar. "There's writing."

"There is?" Miles took a closer look. "Hold on a minute while I run a symbol diagnostic." The tricorder whirred and clicked to itself, running comparisons with all its known languages and coming up with a guess for what this cryptic inscription might read. Miles' forehead wrinkled. "It's just one word, that's the closest the tricorder can come. It says 'Chakram'."

"Chakram," Xena breathed. She slowly fell to her knees.

"This must be what the Cardassians have been trying so hard to protect," Kira said. "A rouge time travel device."

"Would you stop saying that? It's not a time travel device," Xena said. "It's a weapon. Can't you two *see* that?"

"What more powerful weapon could there be?" Miles said. "You don't like the outcome of a battle, you just pop back and change it." He shrugged. "It would be impressive just on its own-- the tricorder says it's made of a metal I've never seen before, harder than even tritanium alloy. But add time travel, and it would be invincible." His gaze fell on the pillar and the kneeling woman before it. "No wonder they gave it the place of honor."

"Indeed," said a cold, rasping voice from behind him. "Honor. Thank you for leading us to our prize-- we've been searching a long time, and you can be sure we'll honor your contribution, when we bury you. Please, turn around."

They all turned, even Xena, who found it almost impossible to wrench her eyes from the Chakram. A tall, very self satisfied Gul was standing there, five armed soldiers at his back. "Good," he said, and nodded at the pillar. "Step away from that, please."

Nobody moved. "Who are you?" Kira asked. "Gul--"

"Gul Brizec." The Cardassian bowed sarcastically. "At your service-- for the few moments that you remain breathing, anyway. His eyes narrowed. "Now step away from the pillar."

"No," said Kira.

"There's no reason why we can't be reasonable," said O'Brien, although he said it in such a way that said even he didn't believe it. Xena hesitated. The chakram seemed to be crying out to her, deafening all the other voices. She saw rather than heard the Gul's caustic response, and surreptitiously stretched out her hand. As she did, the chakram flickered-- a picture appeared inside it, a scene that was a dead ringer for the fields outside Amphipolis. She was startled, but didn't pause. Suddenly she had it...

Oh, it felt so good. She didn't know how, but her fingers knew exactly what to do. She knew how to grasp it, how to throw it, how to give it the right angle and spin. It sailed out of her hand, to collide with the wall and then smash into one of the soldier's skulls. Several of the Cardassians fired at it, despite the anguished "No!" of their leader, but the chakram absorbed the energy and continued on its deadly course. Kira dove for a pile of weapons. She came up with a bladed thing, exactly what Xena would never know, and began striking out at the Cardassians feet. Xena watched as the chakram flew around the room-- three, four, five, of the Cardassians fell, and it was headed straight for the leader. Xena knew that wasn't what she wanted to do. She gave a cry and vaulted across the room, tumbling head over heels until her fingers grasped the chakram just before it slit Gul Brizec's throat. She stood with it in her hand, awed at what she had done, awed at what she'd been about to do. The picture of home still floated inside the metal circle.

Kira, meanwhile, had grabbed one of the fallen Cardassian's phasers, and was using it to cover the Gul. "Drop it," she said, and his own half-drawn weapon clattered to the floor.

O'Brien hobbled over. "You," he said. "Brizec. You know a way out of the caverns?"

The Gul nodded. His forehead bulged as he tried, unsuccessfully, to keep his eyes and both chakram and phaser.

"You will take us there." Gul Brizec started to shake his head. Xena growled low in her throat, and Miles quickly bent his head closer. "Listen, friend," he said softly. "I'll do my best for you, but you don't want to mess with these women. They're *insane.*"

Gul Brizec gulped. "All right," he said. "I will lead you out."

Xena started to say "Good" but she was distracted. As the Gul spoke the chakram tugged in her hand-- she let it go, and it hung in the air, rippling and changing. It had to be a trick, but she could have sworn it was growing, growing until it was big enough to step through. She gasped and stared.

"Xena." O'Brien's voice was soft. "Is that home for you?"

Xena nodded, throat suddenly full. Yes. Amphipolis. She wouldn't be welcomed there-- her mother and everyone else in the village wanted her dead-- but still, her heart thought of it has home.

"It looks like the chakram wants to take you there." Her head snapped to look at him; he shrugged. "I think it might be worth the risk."

He was smiling; Kira was smiling, even as she watched the Cardassian. Xena swallowed. "I guess this is good-bye."

"Not quite," O'Brien said. "According to the schematics the tricorder made, the thing's got a temporal communicator built into it-- if you need us, or we need you, we'll be able to get in contact." He grinned. "Maybe someday you'll be able to tell us what else it can do."

"Yes." Xena looked at the weapon, beautiful and shining. "It does appear to belong to me." She turned, clasped hands with Nerys, and then O'Brien. "Will you be all right?"

"Oh, yeah," Kira said, smiling pointedly at Brizec. "Won't we, Brizec?" The Cardassian nodded. Xena turned to O'Brien. "Your arm..."

"Will be fine once we get back to DS9. I know a good doctor there." Miles shook his head fondly. "You'd better go, before it changes its mind."

She closed her eyes and jumped through.

When the scent of fresh hay filled her nostrils, she opened them again-- yes, she was in Amphipolis, at the very edge of the hayfields. Tattered, bruised, and without an army, but she was alive, and home. Not that she would go there now, but perhaps she would again, someday. Her fingers closed around the chakram in her hand as she turned her steps and walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

For Gabrielle, the Promenade was an experience. She'd thought she'd seen some strange things in her time, and several of the beings they'd met walking through the halls made her stop and stare in disbelief. But that was nothing to the multi-species crowd in the Promenade. A ship was due to go through the wormhole; Nog and Jake let her to a viewpoint, and as the beautiful flower flared against the stars and blackness of space, Gabrielle's mouth dropped open at its radiance. Later, as they sat at a table in Quark's, Gabrielle shook her head, looking out at the crowd. "I'd love to make a story out of this," she said, "but no one would ever believe it."

Jake perked up. "You're a writer?"

"Well, uh, yes," Gabrielle said, slightly taken aback from his reaction. "Sort of in my spare time. When I'm not fighting warlords with Xena."

"That's great!" Jake enthused. "I'm a writer too."

"Oh, really?" Gabrielle nodded, wondering why on earth Jake was acting so excited. "That's, uh, really great."

"I think so. So what do you like to write?"

Nog was not pleased by the way the conversation was turning. "Jake," he said warningly.

Jake waved him off. "You know, it's possible some of your work has survived to the present," he told Gabrielle, and when Nog snorted he shrugged. "Well, it is. After all, people still read Sophicles, and he couldn't have been too far off from Gabrielle's time."

"Sophicles?" Now Gabrielle perked up. "You've read his work?"

"Have I! Mrs. O'Brien required it when she was teaching school here."

"Really? Which is your fav..."

Gabrielle was interrupted by the Ferengi, who spoke up loudly. "You know, Jake," he said, "I think it really is possible that Gabrielle's writing might have survived. Why don't you check on it? There's a public access console right outside."

"Great idea." Jake smiled at Nog, then smiled even wider at Gabrielle. "I'll be right back."

Gabrielle thought that Nog would start up a conversation when Jake left, but he seemed perfectly content to just smile at her, so they sat there in silence. She was actually relieved when Jake came back, looking downcast. "Well, I only found one reference to 'Gabrielle, the Bard of Potedia'," he said in disappointment. "Apparently some scrolls written by someone of that name were found in the early 1940s, by two archeologists named Covington and Pappas, but they were universally condemned as a hoax. There was a successful television show based on them, and later an early AR scenario, but none of the originals survived. I'm sorry, Gabrielle."

"Oh, hey, that's okay," she said cheerfully. "It's not like I'm famous or anything."

"How do you know?" Nog spoke up. "You haven't lived through your whole life yet. You might have been the most famous writer of you era."

"Yeah! Don't sell yourself short." Jake shrugged apologetically. "It's too bad I couldn't find anything, though. I really wanted to read your stuff."

"Maybe she brought something with her," Nog said helpfully.

Gabrielle shook her head. "No," she said. "Xena and I left in too much of a hurry for me to pack." She looked around at the bar full of people-- or whatever they were-- and suddenly an idea struck. "Hey. This is a bar, isn't it."

Nog and Jake looked at each other. "Um, yeah," Jake said.

"Great." Gabrielle sat back in satisfaction, her green eyes sparkling. "I've often told my stories in the bars back home. It always helps to have an extra dinar or two." She turned to Jake. "If you really do want to hear my stories, I mean."

"Of course I do," Jake said. "But--"

"But nobody ever tells stories here," Nog finished. "They play Dabo and they use the holosuites, but... no stories."

"Then I'll be the first." Gabrielle stood and went to the bottom of the stairs, coughing gently until she had the whole bar's attention. She refused to be intimidated by the alien faces looking her way, telling herself that this was no different from any of the other bars she'd told stories in. In fact, the clientele was probably a step or two above-- they certainly smelled better. She took a deep breath and began. "I sing a song of Xena, and the journeys that we've shared..."

***

Xena's hand traced the weapon at her side. She had never tried to make use of the chakram's time travel abilities-- something deep inside had always prevented her, even when greed had overtaken her good sense. She had long suspected that the chakram's makers had built some kind of mind control device into it, preventing the bearer from ever abusing its power. Right after she'd returned to her proper time, she'd started making changes: reinstating the long abandoned code of never killing women or children, for example, and using her army to make small, well timed attacks to minimize casualties, instead of going for an all out blood bath. She'd fought against it, but by the time of her confrontation with Hercules, the changes were well under way: the chakram was molding her into a leader instead of an animal, even when she used it to kill. It had been, and still was, a difficult transformation to make. But there was no way she'd ever go back.

Ares, as a god, would be immune to the effect. Xena got to her feet. She'd spent enough time woolgathering. Now she should find Gabrielle, and start preparing for tomorrow's battle. The lab door whistled shut behind her after she strode purposefully through it.

When she got to their quarters, she was dismayed to find the bard gone. When the station's computer told her "Gabrielle of Potedia" was in Quark's bar the apprehension increased. How would the station folk take to her friend, and vice versa? Once she got there, however, she knew her doubts were foundless. Gabrielle had finished her tales and was sitting at a table, surrounded by a group of happy people. Xena shook her head softly-- she should've know that the bard could overcome anything-- and drew closer.

"I don't believe it," Julian was saying. "You two have met Julius Caesar, Lao Tzu, Boadicea, David and Goliath, Homer *and* Cleopatra? That's impossible!"

"Well, I never actually met Lao Tzu," Gabrielle corrected. "That was Xena. Before my time..."

"Yes, but all of these people... they're from such different eras! You'd have to travel around inside your own personal time warp to know all of them. I can't believe that."

"I can," Miles interjected, taking a swig of ale. "The chakram really took a beating in that last skirmish with the Cardassians. Wouldn't surprise me at all if its time travel apparatus misfires now and then."

"Every time I throw the damn thing," a deep voice agreed at his shoulder. "Fortunately it seems to reset itself whenever I get near Amphipolis, or Gabrielle and I would never be able to go home again."

"Xena!" Gabrielle stood up and gave her beloved a squeeze, then gazed at her rebukingly. "Xena, do you mean we've been time traveling during all of our journeys?"

"Umm..." Xena thought for a minute, then decided to go with the truth. "Yes." She looked at Gabrielle apprehensively, wondering how she'd take it, but apparently the bard's shock threshold had been reached. She just sighed, let go of Xena's waist and slid back into her chair, taking a sip of her drink. "No wonder my scrolls were classified as a hoax."

Julian was still looking at the chakram. "Okay, maybe I can believe the time travel," he said. "But not that you can use that thing as a weapon. It's so small. And you can only use it once-- once you throw it, you can't get it back."

Xena reached across the table to nonchalantly take a sip of Gabrielle's drink, and with her other hand she threw the chakram from under the table. It ricocheted off a Dabo table, the bar, the stairway banister, and a tray Quark was carrying before Xena snagged it out of the air right before it would have hit the skeptical doctor. Julian swallowed hard. "Uh, forget everything I just said..."

O'Brien snickered. "I'm glad you set it to bounce instead of slice before you threw," he said, and Xena smiled and nodded.

"Bounce?" Gabrielle asked. "Slice?"

"Yeah." Miles looked at her curiously. "What, didn't you notice? There's a hidden switch that rearranges the atoms at the edge of the blade. Press once, and it's razor sharp. Press twice and it's blunt again."

"Uh-huh." Gabrielle's eyes widened. She'd always wondered how the chakram could cut through swords and rope, and also knock out a thug without breaking the skin. Now she knew. She reached across the table and took her drink back from Xena.

"Hey, Worf!" Ezri called out. The big Klingon was coming down the stairs, just finished with bat'leth practice in the holosuite. "Come meet Xena and Gabrielle." Word inclined his head and made his way over. "Worf here is also a master of bladed combat," Ezri said to Xena when he arrived. "You two might have some things in common."

"Really?" Xena looked up at the warrior. "Is that true, Worf?"

"I train regularly with several Klingon weapons," Worf said. "In fact I have just finished a practice session in the holosuite with our most honored, the bat'leth." He swung his bat'leth onto the table. Gabrielle jumped at the sudden presentation of so many menacing points and sharp edges, but Xena remained nonplused. She tested the edge with one finger, then, after asking Worf's permission, stood and took a few practice swings, handling the large weapon with remarkable ease. "Nice," she commented tersely, after Julian's and Miles' mouths dropped open and even Worf raised an eyebrow in grudging respect. "A bit heavy for everyday use, though."

Worf took his bat'leth back. "Possibly," he agreed. "For *you*."

Xena looked like she might be offended, then she took another look at the breadth of the Klingon's shoulders and arms and broke into a low chuckle. "Yes, for me," she agreed. "Can I buy you a drink, Commander?"

Worf inclined his head. "It would be my honor," he said, and sat down. Ezri seemed even more impressed by this than by Xena's bat'leth wielding. "Whoa," she said in an undertone to Gabrielle. "He only accepts drinks from people he really likes."

"That is not true, Ezri," Worf corrected her. "I am always pleased to drink with a fellow warrior." A Ferengi waiter came by with his prune juice, which he raised to Xena in salute before drinking. She returned the tribute, and all the Starfleet people gathered 'round the table got even more impressed. Worf did not apply the title of "warrior" lightly. Yes, this woman definitely had something....

Julian coughed and changed the subject. "So. Have you two figured out a solution to our problem?"

Everybody pricked up their ears, including Gabrielle. "With Colonel Kira's help-- yes, we think we did," answered Xena. She looked at Miles who nodded his affirmative. "Miles has figured out a special containment field. It should trap Ares long enough for us to get him back to his proper time."

"And how are you going to get him into the containment field?"

"You can leave that to me." Xena's voice was one hundred percent self confident. Everybody at the table sat back, reassured-- everyone except for Gabrielle, who knew that Xena being confident didn't necessarily mean Xena being right. "Xena?" she asked apprehensively. "How are you going to find Ares? He might not even be on the station anymore-- Ezri was telling me how the emotional disturbances have stopped."

If anyone else had questioned her, Xena would have frozen them, but with Gabrielle she was kind. "It's easy, Gabrielle," she said patiently. "All I have to do is call his name."

Julian stared at the dark woman. "You mean... the god of war will just come if you call him?"

"We have a bond." Xena turned expressionless eyes on him, and the doctor shrunk back. Well, *he* wasn't going to argue with that.

"But-- even if we get Ares back to our own time, how will we make sure he stays there?" Gabrielle asked. "He's a god. It's not like you can keep the chakram out of his hands forever."

"Miles and I have done some fine-tuning of the chakram's controls. Nobody besides me will ever be able to use its power again." Xena shook her head. "It's all going to be okay, Gabrielle. I promise."

"It will be a glorious battle," Worf said. "I look forward to buying you blood wine to celebrate your victory."

"Thank you Worf, but if all goes well Gabrielle and I will be returning home at the same time as Ares. It doesn't make sense to open more than one portal." Xena grabbed the bard's glass again and tossed back the last of her ale, then stood up. "And speaking of leaving-- I think Gabrielle and I are going to have an early night. It will be a hard day tomorrow. Come, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle looked up, confused. "Leave?" she said. "But I was just..." Xena rolled her eyes and glanced at her pointedly; the bard blushed and quickly stood, brushing down her skirt. "Oh. Yes, we really must get.... rested. Goodnight, everyone." They left, the noble warrior striding boldly and the bard hurrying to catch up.

Ezri smiled after them. "Don't they make a cute couple?"

Miles sighed. "Let's just hope they make an effective one," he said.

***

Bright and early the station folk assembled in the main court of the Promenade, lining up just across from the Bajoran temple. Xena gave Gabrielle a hug and stepped away from Nerys, Miles, Worf and all the rest. She had already told everyone to stay out of her way. Miles was ready with the controls that would snap the containment field into being, but that was all the assistance she would allow. This was her fight, between her and Ares alone.

One word, that was all it took. One word to begin this, and hopefully end it too. She drew up her strength from deep inside herself, and whispered the name. It danced across the promenade under its volition, causing a chill to run down the spines of all who heard it. "Ares..."

There was a chuckle, an evil, malevolent laugh. The station people gasped and jumped back. The god was leaning nonchalantly against the entrance to the Bajoran temple. "Xena," Ares said, his eyes sparkling as he raked them over Xena's body. "Tell me this means what I think it means?"

Her reply was measured and slow. "What do you think it means?"

"You've decided to join with me at last." Ares stood, practically glowing with self congratulation. "I knew it. I knew if I got you away from the old world, into a new one, I could return you to your old self. I knew you couldn't fail to see the possibilities. This is a wonderful place, Xena-- such opportunities for the two of us, with none of those silly ghosts or friends of yours to hold you back. You can have a fresh start, Xena, a glorious new beginning. Join with me." He held out his hand.

The warrior stood stock still, and for a moment, just a moment, Gabrielle felt a frizon of fear. But then Xena shook her head. "I'm sorry to disappoint you," she said. "But that's not what I had in mind. I'm here to send you back, Ares. To fight you if I must."

The god regarded her. "Oh, well, that's good too," he said with a shrug. "But you're overestimating yourself if you think you can just send me back, Xena. I'm not about to leave."

Xena drew her sword and advanced, smacking the flat of the blade against the palm of her hand. "You don't belong here, Ares."

Ares spread his arms wide and raised his head to the ceiling. "Are you kidding?" he asked incredulously. "This universe was MADE for a god of war! There's bloodlust and battle fever here unparalleled. Just look at the Cardassians, Klingons, and Romulans... I've never tasted such violence, such desire for gore. Even your stodgy Federation joins in the lust for power. And those Jem'Hadar people... oh, I could really *do* something with them. My warlords and generals back home are nothing in comparison." His teeth shone feraly in the light and he planted his feet firmly against the metal decking. "No, Xena. I'm not going back."

Xena advanced further. "I'm afraid you're going to have to."

Ares' eyes gleamed. "Make me."

Xena swung her sword to the ready position. "With pleasure," she said, and fell on him.

The station folk had never seen such a battle before. Xena and Ares traded blows faster than any eye could follow, their bodies moving in a blur. At one point, a mighty kick send Ares reeling-- he flew backwards across the promenade, caught himself and vaulted to the upper level. Xena gave her war cry and followed. The fight continued, until she forced him back to the ground. Gabrielle watched, so engrossed that she didn't notice Jake approaching until he was right beside her. Then she felt him smack her across the face.

Gabrielle cried out and fell back. She looked into Jake's eyes-- dark and dead-- and suddenly knew what was happening. Ares had taken over his mind. She gripped her staff and fought him off, felling him neatly with a few strokes, and braced herself for a rush from O'Brien. "Xena!"

"Leave them out of this, Ares!" Xena cried.

Ares was sweating heavily, blood trickling from a cut on his chin. "What's the matter, Xena?" he spat. "Can't handle the distraction?"

She screamed and rushed at him again. Gabrielle would just have to fend for herself.

Fortunately it was just the Deep Space Nine humans who were affected. Later O'Brien would speculate this was because of the differences in their brain structures, but at that moment all that mattered was that Gabrielle rapidly found herself backed up by Nerys, Odo, Ezri and a very startled Worf. "Don't hurt them!" she yelled. "They don't know what they're doing!" Worf nodded, pulled the punch that was about to land on the elder Sisko, and grabbed the Captain's collar instead. He held him immobile out in front of him.

"The containment field!" Kira cried. She ran to the console O'Brien was supposed to operate. Xena was pushing Ares hard, herding him down the promenade-- in another second he would be out of range. She touched a key and the field snapped into being.

Ares froze, suddenly unable to move. He struggled in vain. "NOOOOOOO!"

And Xena, coming to a halt with her heart pounding in her chest, looked on in satisfaction.

 

 

It didn't take long for them to say their good-byes. Xena threw the chakram at Ares-- he winced as it came toward him, but it stopped short and began to do its distortion-and-expansion time-portal-opening thing. Nog and Jake came to Gabrielle's side. "It was good to meet you," Nog said, looking downcast.

"Yeah." Jake rubbed his bruised calf and smiled. "Even if you do wield a pretty mean staff."

Gabrielle laughed. "It comes in handy where I come from," she said. "Maybe you can find a holosuite program to teach you the basics."

Meanwhile, Worf had set Captain Sisko down after the captain had brusquely told him that that was enough. "Well, Xena," he told her. "I see you were... effective."

"Thank you, Captain." Xena turned to Miles and Nerys. "It's good-bye again," she said, a touch wistfully.

"You're always welcome," Kira said. "Even when we don't need you to save us from evil."

"You could stick around, you know," Julian spoke up. "We could use you against the Dominion. And I'm sure Miles' family would love to meet you."

"Yeah," O'Brien agreed. "Except Molly would start doing backflips off the furniture and throwing dinner plates around like the chakram."

Xena laughed and shook her head. "Thank you, but no. Gabrielle and I must be going back." She clasped hands with everyone. "Gabrielle?"

"Ready!" The bard took a running leap and pole vaulted into the chakram. Xena followed her, snagging Ares out of the containment field as she went.

The portal disappeared.

 

 

After the dim light aboard the station, the bright sunshine of Ancient Greece dazzled Gabrielle's eyes. She popped into existence a few feet above where her bedroll was still stretched out, did a somersault over the ground and got to her feet beside Argo, who gave her one look and returned to her breakfast. Apparently having bards miraculously pop out of midair and come tumbling toward her was not cause for much concern. She munched her grass placidly.

There was a popping noise and Xena appeared, landing gracefully on her feet. Her hand let go of the ear of the god of war, who fell lengthwise on the ground with a grunt. "Ouch!" he said, rubbing the appendage ruefully. "Why couldn't you couldn't have grabbed somewhere more pleasant?"

Xena raised an eyebrow innocently. "It was pleasant for me."

"It's what you deserved," Gabrielle told the god. "Trying to take over another whole universe like that, as if you didn't make enough trouble here. Shame on you."

Ares shot her a withering stare but quickly turned his attention back to Xena. Despite his less than imposing position, sprawled on the ground, he managed to look menacing. "So you got me back," he said. "Well, dear Xena, I applaud the effort, but I'm afraid you wasted your time. I'm going back. Now." He stretched out his hand for the chakram. Xena jumped and reached for it, but was a fraction of a second too late. The chakram jumped off its hook and flew to him.

Ares smiled broadly. He quickly touched the inlays in a cryptic pattern, then stood. "It's been fun," he started to say, the hesitated as a voice spoke. "What was that?"

"It's the chakram," Gabrielle said. "It does that."

The voice spoke louder, feminine and stilted. "Please stand by for security verification."

"What?!? Ares held the chakram up to the light. Thus he was in the ideal position to get the full benefit of the infrared beam that shortly emerged from the circle, stabbing directly into his left eye. Ares cursed and stumbled back, but didn't let go. "Verification failed," said the chakram. "Initiating defensive measures level one." Suddenly the chakram became very slippery in Ares' hand, too slippery to hold on to. It tumbled to the ground, slicing his finger as it went.

Ares swore some more. His hand was healed instantly, but it still annoyed him. He glared at Xena accusingly. "What was that?"

"A little 24th century gizmo, known as a "retinal scan'," Xena said. She reclaimed her property-- no problems with slipperiness in her hands-- and placed in on its hook. "Chief O'Brien rigged it for me. Nobody but me will ever be able to use the chakram's special abilities again." She shook her head at the god in amusement. "Sorry Ares, but I know you too well. You've been out-schemed."

Slowly, Ares began to smile. "So I see," he said. "I'll keep trying, you know. That universe is much too much fun to give up on."

She sighed. "Go ahead and try, Ares. But you'll fail."

"Hmmm." The god crossed his arms in front of him. "We shall see." With a flash of light, he disappeared.

"Whoa." Gabrielle heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Is he really gone?"

"For now." Xena sighed again and shrugged her shoulders. She dropped to her knees and started rolling up the bedroll. "Come on, Gabrielle, help me break camp. It's time we were moving on."

"Nu-uh." Gabrielle shook her head. "Now I yell at you."

"What?" Xena craned her head to look at her. "Yell at me? For what?"

"Think about it, Xena." Gabrielle placed her hands on her hips. "Three years we've been together, and you tell me nothing about the chakram or that other place. Nothing, nada, zip. Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"

Xena thought. "Well," she said after a moment, "if I'd told you, would you have believed me? Or would you have thought my mind had snapped and left me with the Sisters of Gaia for safe keeping?"

The bard considered this. "Probably that second one," she admitted, and smiled brightly. "Okay. I'll forgive you... as long as you do one thing."

"Oh? What's that?"

Gabrielle dropped to her knees, eagerness plain. "Show me what else the chakram can do?"

Xena shrugged. "All right. I guess there is one thing you should know about. There's a kind of projecting universal translator built into it. It makes it seem like everyone within a hundred foot radius is speaking the same language."

"So that's why everyone we meet speaks Greek. Or.. wait a minute. What about The Horde?"

"Not even the most sophisticated technology works *every* time, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle nodded. "I guess so. Okay. What else?"

Xena frowned. "I think that's everything. Time travel, variable blade, universal translation..." Suddenly she smirked. "Oh. There is one thing..." She whispered in the bard's ear.

Gabrielle turned a fetching shade of crimson, then pulled away and laughed nervously. "Uh-huh," she said. "Good thing Ares didn't find out about that one, huh?"

"I think so." Xena's eyes danced. Gabrielle blushed still deeper. "Maybe I could show you later."

"Uh..." Gabrielle hesitated, then went ahead. "What's wrong with now?"

Xena grinned and reached for her, and Gabrielle sighed with bliss. She thought about the station one last time-- the kindness of its people and the wonders of its technology, one more of which Xena was about to show her-- then put the memories away forever. This was home.

The End


End file.
